Madison Ballet Board of Directors

I'm not sure how many of you have ever had the chance to be on the Board of Directors for any non-profit organizations, but I'm lucky enough to serve with Madison Ballet. Madison is about 45 min. from my dance studio and I work my day job in Madison as well so it's a good fit for me.

This year has been exceptionally challenging for all Arts organizations. With the economic downturn the non-profit world has seen the money from thier donors evaporate with the Wall Street and banking scandals. We've all seen direct impact to this with our own studios I'm sure, people cutting back on classes or maybe not buying as much new clothing or accessories.

Dance is an important cultural aspect that we must not let die in the downturn. Major dance organizations such as the San Francisco ballet, ABT, Ballet Chicago, Madison Ballet are great places for our students and future students to catch the "dance bug". If they never see a real ballet on stage or on TV how are they expected to emulate it in your studio or on your stage?

If you have a major non-profit group close by pick up the phone and talk to the local Executive or Artistic Director. Now, may be the time you can partner with them to help them fundraise and help you gain new students. Your affilliation with upper level dance organizations can only help your brand and your local credibility. Be creative. Hire them to be guest teachers or run a seminar for your summer program. Go jointly to a local school and share the love of dance together. Host a fundraiser with your ticket sales in exchange for back stage passes to thier next performance. There are millions of options, but you need to ask. Our young dancers are the next generation of ticket buyers for these arts groups. We often lose sight of the fact that we ALL need to collaborate to push the next generation of dance forward. Go ahead. Find the local groups near you- even if it's an hour away or more. It will be worth the call!